Over the span of about 18 months, I tackled a major renovation project on our A-Frame cabin in the Colorado mountains. We encountered countless setbacks, hurdles, issues, and any other synonym you can think of for things not going according to plan. It was tough both mentally and physically, but we made it through and this post is dedicated to that major accomplishment.
Here’s a list of all the things we did:
- New roof – the ceiling was actively leaking when we walked through the home during the inspection
- Demo’d kitchen, first floor bathroom, hallway, second floor bathroom, stairs, part of the second floor landing, and laundry room
- Built new stairs in a new orientation with custom iron handrails
- Replaced all electrical and plumbing to include relocating the breaker box
- Updated HVAC
- Relocated the kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and laundry room
- Created a new 3rd bedroom on the first floor with a pocket door (use to be the laundry room)
- Installed new hardwood floors throughout and matched stain with existing/salvaged floors
- Framed and drywalled
- Stabilized exterior retaining wall with helical piers drilled into the side of the mountain
- Repaired interior siding with custom tongue and groove panels
- Installed new bathroom fixtures, showers and tile in 2 bathrooms
- Installed kitchen cabinets, counter tops, backsplash, and appliances
- Painted interior and exterior
- Reinforced deck and added new handrails
- Cleared out the fallen trees in the yard
- Sourced furniture (majority thrifted or on Facebook Marketplace)
- Added new gas line
New Roof!
Architectural renderings of the interior renovations. Huge thanks to my really good friends, Eleanor and Eky, for their help and expertise!
Time-lapse view of the interior from the front door:
Time-lapse view from back door:
Time-lapse view from the loft:
Another angle of the loft:
Fall at the property. The colors were just breathtaking!
Dad coming in clutch! We spent many weeks at the cabin building/installing kitchen cabinets, repairing siding, and all the other big and small projects that needed to be done. Although everything ended up being so much harder than we expected (“nothing is straight in this house”), we really had a good time tackling them together.
All the planning and designing…this would have been my career path in another life. Love it!
“Our” friendly fox that visits us all the time. We’ve named him Felix and if you look closely at the first floor bathroom picture, you will see our little homage to him.
Proof that I got my hands dirty in the project
The final results!!
Open House! Invited friends and family to see all the work that we’ve done. Thank you all so much for the support!
Unfortunately, just a few days after we christened the house with guests and popped bottles in celebration, we had a major setback. There was a leak in the kitchen sink that destroyed all kitchen cabinets and the wood floor at the front of the house! It was devastating, but thankfully covered by our insurance.
Finally, we are back in business and our cute little A-Frame in the Colorado Rockies is available for short-term rental! Here is the Airbnb listing: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1060302114441412450
On to the next project!